Closer to Home
by ArcadiaArden
Summary: When life is at its most chaotic it can define the one place you belong. Post S04x04: 'Maura becomes the key suspect in a homicide case. As the shocking evidence against Maura piles up, Jane struggles between protecting her best friend and doing her job.'


Rizzoli & Isles – I certainly don't own them. I give a lot of credit to the people that do and thank them for letting me mess about with them for a bit. The story and any original characters that might crop up belong to my addled little brain.

This is from a particular photo set Antiaplant posted to tumblr that wouldn't let me go.

CharlietheCAG played beta on this one. Now I know people are like... lucky person gets to read first! Ask Charlie how lucky she felt after about 5 hours of me going "how about this title? this one? but really what about this?" Thank you so much for the patience and the eyes.

**_One shot: Post S4x04 Killer in High Heels - _**_"__Maura becomes the key suspect in a homicide case when Maura's date turns up dead - and Maura can't remember their evening together. As the shocking evidence against Maura piles up, Jane struggles between protecting her best friend and doing her job."_

* * *

Jane hit the power button on her remote and the TV turned black.

Exhausted she combed her fingers through her hair, fingertips pressing against the tension thudding in her skull. She pushed down against her scalp and squeezed firmly but her pulse was only echoed by the sour taste in her mouth.

With a defeated groan she slumped deeper into her couch cushions. The pressure swelled and ebbed with each tick of her heart. She rubbed harder but nothing was chasing it away.

Time to block out everything and find her inner center. Or was it inner peace?

Jane squeezed her eyes shut. Whatever.

Maura's patient voice played on repeat in her mind. Just let it all go. Quiet the monkey mind. Jane wiggled into a better position. She could handle that. She could totally let it all go. She was an empty vessel and peace was going to come fill her up.

The familiar noises of her apartment filtered in and buzzed around in her head.

The tick of the clock she forgot to change at daylight savings.

The hum of her refrigerator.

Jo's contented dog snores from the other end of the couch.

Above her head muted voices started arguing and Jane found herself staring at her light fixture, trying to make out the words.

Jane shut her eyes and tried again. She could ignore a little white noise. Another deep breath in and out. Empty vessel.

Eventually the muffled back and forth was the only thing she could focus on no matter how hard she tried to block it out.

The voices upstairs rose in volume, joined by heavy pacing footsteps almost directly over her head. Jane tried again. Inhale slowly, exhale slowly. Focus on Maura's voice in her head. Let everything go. Let your mind go blank.

Stop thinking. Stop feeling.

Her eyes flew open.

Impossible.

Jane groaned before dropping to her stomach and burying her face into the couch with a frustrated scream. Someplace down near her feet Jo started licking her ankle and she finally went still.

She was yelling into her upholstery, being comforted by a dog.

This had to be a whole new level of pathetic, even for her.

And her couch smelled weird.

Jane grimaced when the incessant licking became more enthusiastic but she didn't have the energy to move.

All she wanted to do was rest and fix whatever was going on in her head. She needed some peace, some sleep and the promise from the universe that the past few days would never, ever, repeat themselves.

Because, _really_.

You were never supposed to have to interrogate your best friend. Not when you knew she'd tell you the exact truth as she understood it, regardless of the consequences.

Not when she looked at you with those big, trusting eyes. And most certainly not when you were the one that was supposed to fix her, not pull her apart.

Jane tried to push away the image of Maura sitting across from her at the interrogation table but it refused to disappear.

Instead she relived how words fell, disjointed and almost desperate from Maura's lips. Jane could see she was lost, fraying around the edges, unraveling so quickly that Jane had wanted to beg Maura to stop speaking.

And she couldn't. Each rambling, hesitant sentence was being recorded and Jane knew damn well she wasn't supposed to be the one interviewing her best friend. All of them knew better. Cavanaugh, Korsak, and Frost. All of them knew the risks. But they let her do it anyway. Korsak had said it. Better them than anybody else. The thin blue line took care of their own and Maura was one of them.

Her position on the couch was making it hard to breathe. Jane rolled onto her back and pressed a fist to her stomach as the burning sensation under her breastbone flared. It had been her constant companion from the minute the bruises were exposed on Maura's arms and she had mumbled her analysis.

With Maura's words, fear had clawed up her spine and twisted in her gut. Jane knew she couldn't stop what happened next.

She had to stand there and watch Maura strip down to nothing. Watch her shoulders curl slightly, raw and exposed in the muted light. Jane couldn't shield her. Couldn't defend her.

The only thing she could do was apologize.

Jane was pretty sure that had almost killed her. And somehow Maura had fucking known that too, trying to reassure her with a certain professional detachment, methodical and even-toned. Yes, to calling her lawyer. No, to calling her parents.

Jane rolled onto her back and rubbed her arms. It still was not right and it was not okay that Maura had walked out that door to face a rape kit alone. The words echoed in her pounding head.

"You know they gotta take you to the hospital for this."

"Yes, for the rape kit. I know the drill."

And Maura had known she couldn't come with her. She had understood she was on the opposite side of the interrogation table. "Look, just…just do your job Jane. Whatever happens, happens."

And Jane couldn't comfort her. Touch her.

Jane swallowed hard. The image of Maura Isles being escorted out of the Precinct, scared, vulnerable, looking for her one last time with those dark, haunted eyes was branded white hot into her mind.

She had felt so helpless. She hated feeling helpless.

Jane rubbed at her neck, as the sensations from the last few days twisted together, flaring down her back and twitching along her legs.

The prickling continued to run over her shoulders and down her arms. Twisting to an upright position Jane tried to reach between her shoulder blades but couldn't. Scratching her biceps she felt like she was on fire all over.

Maybe she had some weird disease. Some strange disorder. At least tomorrow she knew for sure she could ask Maura which disorder it was. She could go into work and press the down button on the elevator and everything would be the way it was supposed to be.

Maura was back where she belonged.

Jane let out a defeated sigh and surveyed her quiet living room.

She was where she belonged.

Those were her curtains around her windows. Those were her pictures up on the walls. It was even her crap all over the coffee table

Rolling her shoulders Jane tried to make herself to stop moving, stop thinking, and most importantly, stop remembering.

But the thoughts wouldn't stop. That was the problem. That niggling, gnawing sensation she'd been living with over the past 72 hours kept twisting harder and harder until she couldn't help but jump to her feet and stalk over to the fireplace.

Suddenly her place felt small. Tight. Confined.

Jane forced herself to pause, her fingers tracing the carved lines of the mantle. Shutting her eyes she tried to breathe as the pressure in her chest bloomed.

Walls filled with bits and parts of her life pressed in until her heart started to thud.

Breathing hard, Jane crossed the room and shoved her bare feet into sneakers, not caring about the hole in the knee of her sweats as she yanked open her front door, barely taking time to clip a leash onto Jo.

Jo pulled her down the stairs and out into the Boston night. The city air brushed over her bare arms, raising goose bumps in its wake.

Outside, unconfined, she sighed in relief.

Rubbing a hand briskly over her bicep Jane started to walk faster letting Jo lead, her tail a banner, taking everything in as she darted back and forth.

As the steps multiplied Jane felt the pressure in her head lessen. Familiar sounds of the city wrapped around her with each strike of her sneaker on the sidewalk. Freed from the suffocation from her apartment, she finally stopped trying to fight thinking about the past few days.

Logically Jane knew that there was nothing more she could have done. Korsak, Frost, and even Maura herself, had all done what they did best. They'd worked as a team with scraps of almost nothing, intuition and bizarre luck to solve a crime. This was what they did and who they were. Boston's Finest.

Only there had been nothing fine about this entire experience.

It wasn't fine that her mother had turned in that video.

It wasn't fine that Maura was sporting a black eye when she should have been isolated from the rest of the prison population.

It certainly wasn't fine that Jane couldn't prevent either situation. Especially when that flash of panic had etched onto Maura's bruised face and she'd whispered desperately, "God. Just get me out of here Jane."

Jane pressed a fist into her stomach when the ache under her breastbone grew. When Jo pulled her towards a familiar crosswalk she vaguely realized they were headed towards the Boston Common.

The park wasn't large but by the time she was walking through the middle, even the buzz of the traffic seemed a step away. Jane slowed slightly, her breathing ragged from her dash through the city evening. The wind buffered through the trees, adding the sounds of rustling foliage overhead.

Jane looked up at the waving branches and for a moment she felt alone in the middle of the city. This far into the park the branches of one tree almost touched the next above her head. She was aware the pavement had changed to grass under her feet as Jo continued to let her nose discover the Boston night.

Absorbed in the thoughts rushing through her mind, her eyes strained to see through the trees, trying to spot stars through the city glow. Suddenly the grass changed to pavement and Jane yelped as she went flying through the air to land palm downs on the asphalt walkway.

Sprawled on the ground, fresh scrapes on her palms stinging, Jane could barely hold back the tears pricking her eyes. She exhaled noisily and swallowed convulsively until her emotions were under control.

Jane looked around but nobody seemed to notice her there, sitting deep in the shadows. The sight of Jo sitting by her thigh, head tilted slightly, made her chuckle. "Jo, I'm a mess."

The blare of a horn made her realize she was almost to Beacon Street. Rubbing the cuts on her hands against her sweats she slowly got to her feet. Tugging lightly at Jo's leash, Jane continued to the edge of the park, watching the stream of cars fly by.

Across the street buildings of elegant brick loomed over her.

Jane was passing through the stone pillars of Boston Common and following the crosswalk before she had ever realized she had made up her mind.

Charles Street, Chestnut Street to Mount Vernon, each one brought her closer to one particular brownstone.

The living room lights glowed through the stained glass. Jane stood by the fountain in Maura's courtyard, heart pounding slightly. Licking dry lips, the smell of the roses growing in the fountain tiers floated over her and she became acutely aware of the holes in her sweats as air hit her knee.

She took a step closer to the door before stopping to shift uneasily. Sweat on her palms seeped into the scrapes on her palms and Jane fisted the bottom of her shirt, squeezing the cotton against the pain. She should call first.

Reflexively Jane grabbed for the phone at her waist only to touch crumpled cotton cloth.

She didn't have her phone.

Hesitantly Jane looked back to the street. The only time she had felt any peace in over 72 hours had been when Maura Isles had walked back into the Precinct, reached for her and pulled her in.

Jo pulled at her leash sharply and Jane had to take a half step forward to catch her balance. She stared at the closed door. She really should walk back to her place, get her shit together and call first. Maybe change.

But that moment earlier today.

The clapping had faded to the background as Maura reached for her, arm hooking across her shoulders to pull her down firmly. Jane had let herself melt into the embrace and pulled Maura closer. Felt Maura mold around her and breathe her in. Everything had been okay for that moment.

She needed that.

Jane could hear the sound of the doorbell fading and the sound of footsteps approaching.

The door opened and Maura stood backlit by the hallway, hair haphazardly piled on the top of her head, silk robe fisted closed. "Jane?"

Jane could hear the question, the hesitation. She realized what she must look like. She bit her lip and stepped close enough to see the mottled bruising on Maura's face and the dark half moons under her eyes. She should go home, let Maura rest.

"Sorry, I know it's late." She held both hands out, palms up. "But I was in the Common walking Jo, and I fell."

It was a flimsy excuse, but it was all that she had. There was a softening to Maura's features, the confusion slowly fading. A hand gently circled her wrist to pull a hand closer, letting Jane know all that she needed to.

Maura traced the shallow scrapes with a fingertip. "Come inside and let's get these cleaned up."

Inside Maura's home the familiar walls surround Jane and she let out a long sigh as she kicked off her sneakers and unclipped Jo's leash. She let Maura lead her up the stairs and into the master bath.

Maura turned the water on and grabbed a fresh hand towel from under the sink. She picked both Jane's hands up and studied them under the light. She looked up and studied Jane under the light. "No debris. Wash them for me please."

Jane watched Maura open a vanity cabinet and run a finger along the contents. The bottle of hydrogen peroxide made her grimace and Maura gave her a small half smile before stepping closer.

"Man up, Rizzoli." Maura's voice was soft as she moved in to take over drying Jane's hands. "It's only going to sting for a second."

Jane gave a stifled laugh, the sound restrained as Maura stepped closer to dab at the cuts. "Did you just actually tell me to 'man up'?"

Nodding, intent on her task Maura finished one hand and started the other. "Yes, I believe I did."

"Christ, being on the inside really changed you." It was meant to be a joke, something to deflect the fact that Maura was standing almost thigh to thigh with her and the pit in her stomach was growing larger by the second.

But then Maura looked up.

Maura couldn't move when Jane's free hand reached up and careful fingertips traced the bruises on her face. Couldn't look away from the anguished dark eyes pinning her in place as whispered words reached her ears.

"I'm so sorry, Maura." The words burned her throat. Jane felt her breathing hitch.

Maura reached up and captured the hand on her face. "I keep telling you, this was not your fault."

Needles prickled under her skin and Jane shifted under the sensation. She couldn't move. She couldn't look away. Her heart hammered above the hole in her stomach.

Without breaking eye contact Maura brought Jane's palm to her mouth and kissed the damaged surface. "See? You survived. All better."

The burning behind her eyes pooled in the corners and all Jane could do was shake her head and squeeze her eyes shut. Blindly she reached for Maura's arm and desperately looked up to the ceiling as she pulled her closer. "Would it be okay?" She sucked in air. "Can I?"

Maura let go of Jane's hand and reached an arm up to pull Jane in, letting her body sink into every warm angle. She buried her face into Jane's hair and held her close.

Peace.

Quiet.

Nothing.

Jane pulled back long enough to kiss the side of Maura's head before tightening her grip, feeling an echoing shudder from the body in her arms. Unable to help herself she pressed her lips to the warm skin of Maura's forehead. Lingering.

She could feel Maura's uneven breathing matching her own. Gently she brushed her lips against Maura's temple, brought them to hover just above the battered skin below her eye before brushing the heated skin reverently.

Shivering when Jane pulled back, Maura gradually opened her eyes. She read each line and curve on the familiar face. She pulled her arm from around Jane's neck to trace the back of her fingers along the slant of a forehead and slope of a cheek. Dark eyes beckoned. Maura cupped an angled jaw and pulled Jane closer.

Soft, knowing lips caressed her own, lingered, offered. Jane knew she was trembling. Knew Maura could feel the quiver as she pressed back, each touch making her need more.

Jane's hands slipped along her curves pressing her closer as each touch of their lips went from soft questions to knowing answers. Maura pulled back, breathing hard. Jane's expression mirrored the feelings coursing through her. This time she when she reached up and pulled Jane closer there was no hesitation as she welcomed her in, needing.

The familiar pounding of her pulse ratcheted through her and Jane lifted her arms when Maura's hands wound into the cloth of her shirt and tugged upwards. There was a second of cool air before the slide of silk over her bare skin made the twisting pit in her stomach flare down her torso. It wasn't enough.

Determined fingers inched the silk of her dressing gown upward and Maura shifted, letting the fabric slip up as she pushed a thigh between Jane legs, hands caressing up along warm skin, as she met seeking lips over and over. When Jane's hands finally found the bare skin of her waist, Maura stepped back and looked at the slightly disheveled sight in front of her. She needed more.

When Maura met her eyes, Jane knew there was no going back. She couldn't go back. She needed the fit of Maura's body against her own. She needed to feel her touch reaching in and chasing everything else out.

Never breaking eye contact Maura unknotted the belt of her robe and let it pool to the floor at her feet. Reached up, she let her hair fall free. With a last look she pulled her nightgown over her head before turning around and walking to her bedroom.

Maura's skin was satin under her hands. Jane stepped behind her as they reached the bed, brushing hair aside to press a reverent kiss to the nape of her neck. She let her fingers map each curve as Maura slowly turned around to find her mouth. Deft hands unclasped her bra, caressed down her sides, pushed along her hips until the rest of her clothing could be tossed aside. Each touch of lips up her thighs, over her stomach branded her skin. Each kiss invited more until that moment when Maura's curves melded fully into her own and there was nothing left between them. All Jane could do was run her hands up and down Maura's back and bury her face in her hair, needing her closer.

Maura's calves brushed against her bed and she pulled Jane down, sighing in relief at the weight and the feel of a thigh slipping between hers. She reached up to kiss along a shoulder and test the scrape of teeth against a long neck, feeling the shudder of approval as she nipped along a jaw to find lips waiting.

Each sound of approval drew Jane in and drove her on. She tested the weight of a breast and the hard feel of a nipple against her palm. Felt the arch of a back as her lips touched under a soft ear and the restless slide of a thigh against her as she slowly teased her way down Maura's neck.

Jane's lips chased a trail along her collarbones, down her breastbone before hovering warmly over the peak of her nipple. Maura slipped a hand up and around to the back of Jane's neck, winding a finger into her hair to tug her closer, feeling the teasing smile against her before wet heat sucked gently.

Maura's groan vibrated against her lips when Jane rolled her tongue to tease a nipple with her teeth. She shuddered as a hand massaged down her back, over her hip before tracing lightly against her side. She had to pause, breathing hard when a palm slipped between their bodies and teased the crease of her thigh.

When Jane's fingers mirrored her own teasing touch Maura arched up against the thigh pressing against her. When those fingers slipped between them to trace her clit, Maura arched up, twisting so she could flip Jane over. Breathing heavily, looking down at their change in positions Maura reached down to capture Jane's lips with her own as she pressed two fingertips inside. Taking the seeking hips as approval she pushed all the way in.

Maura was around her, in her, and Jane could barely breathe. Determined lips sucked along her neck as fingers started to slide. Needles prickled sharply along her skin and when pressure stroked along her clit she desperately looked for more, arching into the touch, pulling Maura tighter, closer.

She could feel Jane reaching between their bodies even as the pressure was increasing around her fingers. When Jane's fingers found her clit Maura could feel her thighs start to shake as their bodies moved in tandem.

The sound of their rough breathing echoed in Jane's head. Soft gasps were coming faster against her neck. Her fingers slipped through welcoming heat. Reaching, pressing, seeking until she could thrust in. Maura arched up and pressed down and Jane was lost.

Jane couldn't stop feeling. She couldn't stop needing. Every part of her was filled with sound, taste and touch. Maura suddenly surged against her hard, body going still, tightening around her fingers, before falling against her shuddering, breathing heavy and uncontrolled.

Maura burrowed her face into Jane's neck needing to be closer. She hazily tilted her head up to kiss roughly along Jane's jaw. Slowly she started to move her fingers again. With each thrust in, the body under her started to shift, to move, until a taut abdomen started to quake uncontrollably. Jane's fingers clawed at her back and Maura pressed tighter against her.

The pressure swelled and ebbed with each tick of her heart, building. Jane couldn't escape.

She gasped for air. She couldn't stop her eyes from slamming shut.

The touch deep inside her kept twisting harder and harder, chasing everything away. Tension swelled, building, pounding through her, growing until Maura's voice was the only echo in her head.

Let your mind go blank. Let everything go. Swallowing her whole until she was inert, static, suspended in silence until she shattered into a million sparks of nothing.

Peace.

Slowly each inhale and exhale became even. Maura's curves were nestled into her own. Jane tightened her arms around Maura, holding her in place, comforted by her weight.

Unsure hazel studied Jane carefully. There were so many things that she needed to say. Needed to ask.

Jane could feel Maura staring at her and she opened her eyes. She met Maura's gaze openly, gently drawing patterns along her back, watching the emotions swirling over her features. "Hi."

Maura traced a fingertip along Jane's eyebrow and down her cheek. She brushed it lightly against a protruding lower lip, smiling softly when Jane captured it with a kiss. She pressed her face into Jane's neck and breathed in, still and unmoving. Not wanting this moment to end.

Finally, she raised wary eyes. "Was this only because I wouldn't show you my prison tats?"

Jane couldn't help the chuckle, understanding the gravity under the humor. "No. Though I admit this would have been an effective method." She pinched a sensitive backside. "But I didn't find any tonight. I guess I had better try again."

Maura squirmed, smiling, but her eyes were serious. "You might have to keep trying to find them for a very long time."

"I agree," Jane yawned as she pulled Maura down. "A really long time."

Nodding, relieved, Maura buried her face again, breathing deeply, the exhaustion of the past few days creeping over her. "Is it okay if I stay here?"

Sleep tugged at her and Jane answered by hugging Maura to her.

Within moments Maura's breathing evened out as she went boneless against her and Jane sighed in contentment.

Maura was where she belonged.

She was where she belonged.

The quiet sounds of their breathing filtered in and flowed through her. Everything was tranquil and still.

Her eyes drifted shut as Jane rested her cheek against Maura's hair and her mind stayed quiet.

It was peaceful, easy. Sleep finally finding her as she tightened her arms and pulled Maura closer.

* * *

A/N - I always say it's hard to connect to the readers and see what everyone thinks with these one-shots and it truly is. If you enjoyed it, even months (years?) from now I hope you won't mind letting me know. I always leave guest reviews on.


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